Read 1st time February 7, 2000, and 1000 copies ordered printed.
Read 2nd time February 8, 2000, and referred to the Committee on Children, Youth and Families, February 17, 2000.
Reported from the Committee on Children, Youth and Families, March 16, 2000, with recommendation that the bill Do Pass.
Taken up for Perfection April 25, 2000. Bill ordered Perfected and printed.
ANNE C. WALKER, Chief Clerk
To repeal section 453.005, RSMo Supp. 1999, relating to adoption, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.
Section A. Section 453.005, RSMo Supp. 1999, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 453.005, to read as follows:
453.005. 1. The provisions of sections 453.005 to 453.400 shall be construed so as to promote the best interests and welfare of the child in recognition of the entitlement of the child to a permanent and stable home.
2. The division of family services and all persons involved in the adoptive placement of children as provided in subdivisions (1), (2) and (4) of section 453.014, shall provide for the diligent recruitment of potential adoptive homes that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the state for whom adoptive homes are needed.
3. In the selection of an adoptive home, consideration shall be given to both a child's cultural, racial and ethnic background and the capacity of the adoptive parents to meet the needs of a child of a specific background, as one of a number of factors used in determining whether a placement is in the child's best interests. This factor must, however, be applied on an individualized basis, not by general rules.
4. Placement of a child in an adoptive home may not be delayed or denied [solely] on the basis of race, color or national
origin.
Missouri House of
Representatives